nolefan

Ok,
I have been eyeing drop bars, and just figured I would get one later as I slowly upgrade, but Jenson USA has me messed up, they have a good looking entry level Eason drop bar on sale for $19.

Should I get it? I have a 1992 Trek 830 that will be an "urban" bicycle. I don't have the brack/shifter levers that go on the drop bars, and was just going to put the current setup on top to try and give me enough room to sit straight when needed, and wrap the handlebar.

Is this something I should consider, or just stick to my current flat bar with bar ends? What are my options down the road for brake/shifters for the drop bars? The ones I have seen are pricey.

Should I resist the temptation, or just say what the heck and get them?

Looigi

Kind of depends on the type of riding you do and your personal preference. I prefer drop bars for all riding, except of course mtb. If you do decide to try them, you might need a new stem (to fit the dia of the bar and also to position it appropriately), and of course shifters, cables, bar tape... Shifters need to be compatible with # of gears and cable pulls for both DRs and for the brakes, etc... Alternatively look around and buy a used or new bike already set up with drop bars. That may be simpler, easier, and if used, possibly even cheaper.

Yo Spiff

I think if you get drop bars, you will want road levers. Not as much for the location of the levers, but for having the brake hoods to put your hands on. For many people, the hoods is the most comfortable position, with the most control, and your fingers are right near the levers. Normal road levers may not have the right leverage for your brakes though. Others will probably know that better than myself.

Not sure how you would convert the shifters to work on drops. (Maybe just go to friction shifting using bar-end levers?) I have an '88 Trek 900 with thumb shifters. I have some fairly long curved bar-ends on it to give me alternate hand postions. My favorite position seems to be grasping the closer end of the bar end extensions, which approximates grasping the hoods on my road bike, though with my arms a bit wider.

Port Bolivar by Yo Spiff, on Flickr

nolefan

Thanks, I think I just needed someone to talk me out if it for now.
I didn't even think about the possibility of a new stem.
I think I will just keep what I have for now, as I already have bar ends, and just upgrade to different bar ends in the future.

fietsbob

I highly Recommend Ergon, an integrated wide surface grip & bar end,
that is fixed with 1 bolt.

I have the GC3, the longest bar end version..

Yo Spiff

I was looking at the Ergon's the other day, needing to get some grips on the tandem I just bought. Kinda pricey in comparison to ordinary rubber grips, even ones with wider palm rests. Do you find they are worth the extra expense?

Retro Grouch 

How do your present brake and shift levers attach to the handlebar? If they slide on from the end I think that you've got trouble around the bend because the clamps are designed for a smaller diameter handlebar.

fietsbob

Me? Yea, I put them on my Brompton's M bar, [shorter grip-shift version]
the single bolt lets me loosen them and twist the long bar ends 1 up, 1 down,
when I fold down the bars.
were I to get the shorter GC2 i would not have to change them at all.

Longer rides the most comfortable 'grip' is open palm.. then the way the GC3
bar end J bend comes around, is where I place my fingertips..

nolefan

Wow, way too many variables and options

I think I will stay as is for now, as I am still a n00b, but once I get a little more serious, I may just upgrade to a new bike with drop bars already and keep the old Trek for a beater.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I didn't know there were so many variables to look at!

Nightshade

Drops = oh, my aching back !!!!!!

nolefan

Haha,
I am eyeballing the Nashbar Trekking Bars now, as they are cheap as well. Just curious of what the weight difference would be. I would assume they are heavier than my current straight bar on the 830.
Everyone would look at me crazy if I brought the current handlbar in to weigh on the USPS scale

himespau 

Another option to consider is mustache bars. The problem with those is many bars are road bar diameter, but I managed to find a set a couple of months back that are flat bar diameter so I can put my flat bar shifters and brake levers on there.

rumrunn6

do it - sounds cool

Northwestrider

i went from using bars for years to drops a couple of months ago. Now i prefer drops due to their comfort

shouldberiding

That's funny, because flat bars cause more shoulder and back discomfort for me than anything in God's creation.

I wouldn't recommend drop bars on a mountain bike though.
Do it. Lots of hand positions. Take my advice and wrap the whole thing in bar tape without rubber grips. Much more comfortable and bar tape doesn't slip like crazy or chafe like a mother when it's wet.

They may not look it, but they're pretty light. The difference in weight will be negligible on a heavy old mountain bike.

Nermal

I wouldn't give a moment's thought to the weight difference. Trekking Bars look good and feel very good - in the store. Make sure you don't get into something expensive with brakes and shifters before you start.

NightShift

I've looked at the trekking bars but haven't tried them.
I have tried a couple different northroad bars and been very happy with them.

I've also been looking at some of the dirtdrop style bars, and I think I'll be getting a woodchipper soon. They can be used with a mountain bike stem and shifters, or brifters. I'm thinking to keep my current shifters (for now) and get a set of road brake levers. You can get road type brake levers in standard short pull (for caliper and cantilever brakes) or long pull (for V-brakes), but canti brakes are cheap and readily available, not that hard to convert to if you have v-brakes (I'll be using a bike that currently has cantis, but I've done the conversion before) and canti brakes will work if you switch to brifters later. And the options for v-brake road levers is pretty limited.

nolefan

Oooh, I like the woodchipper bar! Please keep me updated on your progress if you get one. If I could get one of those and fit all of my current hardware, that would be great! (I have cantis).

nolefan

Wow, I have been in the dark. I guess it skipped my mine that I could just get road bike brakes with brifters without shifters. Would the Tektro RL340 work with cantis?Woodchipper bar and brifters here I come Also, my current shifters screw into the brake housing bracket. Is there a bracket available to buy to mount the shifters to once I get road brake levers?

fietsbob

There are about as many different bends of drop bars as shapes
and makes of saddles..

hundreds..

MichaelW

Switching from flats to drops is not a trivial matter and you are probably wise to "drop" the idea.
This issues include:
Moving the cruising position (brake hoods) about 10cm/4" forward of the stem clamp. If you were comfortable cruising before, you will be over-extended on the brake hoods.
New shifters requires: need inline cable adjusters and may have incompatibilities with MTB mechs.
Possibly different stem diameter-> new stem.

Drop bars do not have an inherantly stretched out position. Many older tourists ride quite upright on drops and many cycle couriers and CX-style MTBers ride with their flats low and long.
There has been a recent trend for smaller diameter drops with more sophisticated curves (eg 3TTT ergonova) which are really good for leisure and tour riding.

For flatbar riders wishing to have more choice of hand positions, the first choice should probably be a trekking style bar. Bar ends tend to splay the hands out, locking elbows and catching air in the chest. Clip on aerobars have been used successfully by many MTB tourists and are worth considering.

NightShift

Butterfly trekking bars will either extend or shorten your reach to the controls (depending how you set them up, using your current stem).

Dirtdrop type bars can allow you to have controls at the same reach you have with a flatbar (but possibly a bit narrower/closer together), and give you the hood position that would be comparable to long bar ends (only with access to brakes), and give you a wide drop position.

But it may necessitate replacing shifters depending on what you're starting with and what positions you want.

You could combine mtb brake+shifter units with non-aero road brake levers, but cable routing would be a nightmare. Using aero road brake levers with cross brakes should work fine, but if your shifters are integrated with brakes that creates a problem. Some of Shimano's combined units used a single bolt mount that was the same on some of their stand-alone shifter pods, but I don't think they sold just the mount clamp so getting the part to make the integrated shifters stand alone would probably be more trouble then it's worth.